


Arrow

by FrozenSpitfire



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Angst, Arrow!Kristoff, Bows & Arrows, Crime, F/M, Fluff, Hot Kristoff, Kristanna, Romance, Superhero!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-02-11 07:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2060091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSpitfire/pseuds/FrozenSpitfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Arrow. I go by Arrow." He answers, turning away from her for good and leaping off into the night. "Arrow…" she whispers to herself.<br/>She doesn't know why, but after this meeting she starts thinking that maybe, just maybe, Hans is the one who's not good enough for her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrow

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I saw two posts by frozenmusings on tumblr where Kristoff was doing archery. At first, I just stared and thought: “Wow… this is so amazing… Kristoff’s so hot…” , but then I just thought about Green Arrow, and how cute and amazing Kristoff would be as a superhero and this happened. Tadah! I hope you enjoy it :) Since frozenmusings inspired me, this will be dedicated to her :)

 Anna couldn’t help the tears that kept streaming down her face as she ran as far away as she could from her house. Well, not that she could call it _hers_ anymore. Not after today.

_Stupid_

 Sobs escaped her throat often, even if she tried to repress them as much as she could. Her legs were numb and her breathing was heavy as she finally stopped in a dark alleyway, her back hitting the cold wall.

_Useless_

She let herself slide down the wall, landing heavily on her butt and hugging her knees close to her chest, burying her face in them. She finally let herself fall apart. Strong sobs shook her body as she relived the events over and over again in her head.

_If only there was someone out there who loved her._

 Hans…

  How could he? After everything they’ve been through? She thought he loved her- no, he _said_ he loved her. She thought he was her true love. But all this time, those sweet words and loving gestures were a lie. A complete and utter _lie_.

 She felt like she couldn’t breathe, as if someone was strangling her. She laid down on the ground, its roughness pressing not-so-pleasantly against her cheek, as she kept hugging her knees, the tears and sobs leaving her body at an alarming rate. She closed her eyes, tried to forget about the painful phone call she heard; the phone call that ruined her dream of true love and happily ever after.

_Don’t worry, Anna is so in love with me that she would throw herself in front of a car to save my life…_

 She was dumb to believe that a man like him would love someone like her… what would he see in her? She didn’t know anything about the world, due to her isolated childhood. There was no one out there who loved her, not even her sister. She didn’t have anyone… and worst of all, she didn’t even know what love was.

_Don’t worry about it, everything’s already set up, they’re just waiting for my call. It will look like it was a mugging._

  Anna felt something hard press against her temple. She sat up quickly and opened her eyes, immediately regretting the action. Standing in front of her was a man, pressing a gun right into her forehead. Standing behind that said man was another one, with his arms crossed, looking straight at her with nothing but cold eyes. Both men wore masks hiding their faces.

 “I would advise you to get up, miss” the man in front of her said, pressing the gun harder against her forehead. Anna did as she was told, getting up very slowly. New tears streamed down her face, but these ones weren’t from pain or sadness, these ones were from fear. The sobs had ceased and her eyes were wide.

 “W-what do you want?” she asked, her voice quivering, hands folded tightly in her chest.

 “It depends” the other man said, approaching her and his companion “on what you have to give us”

 Anna unfolded her hands from her chest and, with shaking fingers, she took her engagement ring (an expensive white gold band with small diamonds carving it and a bigger one in the center) off her ring finger and extends it out to the bandits.

 “This is all I have with me. It’s really expensive, if you sell it, it’ll give you an enormous amount of money” she says, trying to keep her voice steady, but failing miserably. The bandit with the gun takes it from her hand and examines it carefully.

 “Yeah, it has value” he says, shrugging. He passes the ring out to the other man and presses the gun harder in her forehead “But we’re not here for the ring” he says, getting closer to her.

 “Y-you… you aren’t?” she asks. At this point, she was almost certain the thieves could hear her heartbeat, and feel the fear radiating from her. She tenses as the thief with the gun leans even closer, his left hand pressing against the wall and his shallow breath gracing her ear.

 “Do you want to know why we’re here?” he asks, smirking a little. Truthfully, Anna didn’t want to know, but she couldn’t say that to them. She had the feeling that if she said so, he would tell her anyways and it would be much worse to her. So she nodded slowly.

 He brushes his lips against her ear and whispers “We’re here to kill you”

 Anna doesn’t know if the gasp that leaves her parted lips is from what he just confessed or from the punch he gave her in the stomach. She crouched down and her arms wrapped around her belly instantly. She felt the tears returning as the words repeated themselves in her head.

  _Stupid_

 The other thief landed a kick to her side, making her fall to the ground, grunting in pain.

  _Useless_

With her eyes closed, she didn’t know which one of them punched her in the face.

_If only there was someone out there who loved her._

 Another punch in the stomach, and she closed her eyes tighter, praying to God that the thief holding the gun would just shoot her and get it over with. She hears the click of the gun and then…

_Someone who loved her…_

_Loved her…_

**_Loved her_ **

Silence.

Nothing but silence. Was she in heaven? Was it over already? She didn’t want to open her eyes, afraid of what she’d see.

 Taking a deep breath, she started to open them slowly. Blinking softly, she sat up, wonderstruck at the scene in front of her. A few arrows were pinning the two bandits to the wall across from her. Both of them were unconscious, their heads hanging mindlessly in front of them.

 She got up and brushed her tears away with the back of her hand. Walking to the middle of the alleyway, so that the moonlight was shining over her strawberry blonde braids, she looked around, searching for the source of the arrows. She found what -no, _who_ \- she was looking for standing near a fire escape.

 He was tall and strong and… that’s all she could tell. He had a hood covering his features and when he looked up at her, instead of meeting his eyes, she was met with a domino mask. But now she could see he had a strong jaw and a… quite big nose. He was holding a bow in one hand, an arrow snatched onto its string. A quiver was resting on his back and he was looking straight at her. She wanted to speak, wanted to thank him for saving her, but no words were coming from her mouth. He stared at her for a little while, before turning around and shooting the arrow to the next building. He was about to get away when she finally managed to find her voice again.

 “Wait!” she calls out to him. He glances at her over his shoulder and frowns a little.

 “I… I… Thank you. F-for saving me. Thank you so much” she says, taking a step towards him.

 She thinks she sees a small smile grace his lips “You’re welcome” he says back, turning away from her again.

 “At least-” she starts, gaining his attention “At least tell me your name”

 “K- Arrow. I go by Arrow.” He answers, turning away from her for good and leaping off into the night. She just stands there, a small blush gracing her cheeks.

 “Arrow…” she whispers to herself. She sees movement from the corner of her eye and notices the thugs are starting to stir, meaning they’re about to wake up. She turns on her heel and starts running in the opposite direction, thinking about her savior.

 She doesn’t know why, but after this meeting she starts thinking that maybe, just _maybe_ , Hans is the one who’s not good enough for her.


	2. Kristoff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long, guys. I had some family members at my house and I had to spend time with them and show them around. They stayed here until Monday and I only managed to start writing Tuesday (author’s block). I had a whole chapter done, but I wasn’t happy with it, so I started writing again. I’m not so sure about this one either, but here it is. I really hope you like it :)

 The giddiness and the adrenaline had already worn out. She completely forgot about the encounter with her savior and the sadness and self-beating took over once again. Anna looked up at the building standing in front of her, a mix of fear and nervousness rushing through her veins. Since she fought with her parents because of Hans and their marriage, she’s been doing her best to avoid this place. But now, after everything she heard Hans say, she knows that she needs them.

\----

_“Wait, what?” Anna’s voice raised a bit “What do you mean, ‘no’?” she asks sharply, taking a small step backwards._

_“We mean” her dad starts saying, crossing his arms over his chest and looking her straight in the eyes “’ **No** ’”_

_“Honey, please, try to understand-” her mother started, approaching her carefully._

_“Understand what?!? That you don’t want me to be happy?” Anna shouted at them, getting away from her mother “All my life I’ve been held behind closed doors. I had private lessons so that I wouldn’t go to normal schools with normal kids. I wouldn’t attend parties with you nor would we go out for an ice cream or a walk in the park. The closest friend I have is Olaf, and that’s only because his family is close to ours. And even that started slipping through my fingers!” she takes a deep breath and continues “After Elsa started shutting herself out, we stopped having dinner once a week with them. That would only happen once a month at the beginning and once a year now. I miss spending time with you. I know the hospital takes a lot out of you, but couldn’t you spend a little more time with your daughters? Couldn’t we have dinner like the happy family we were before? Couldn’t we… open our doors… our hearts to people?” she whispers the last part, a single tear rolling down her cheek._

_Her mother approaches her and tries to embrace her, but Anna brushes her away._

_“Anna… of course we want you to be happy. That’s why we’re doing this. You can’t marry a man you only know for two months” her mother explains once again, her voice trembling as she tries to hold her own tears in._

_“You can, if it’s true love” Anna answers, a determined look in her eyes._

_“Anna, what do you know about true love?” her father asked, his gaze softening a little._

_“How could I know? You never taught me what it was. You never_ showed _me how it felt” Anna replies and both of her parents’ eyes widen “But Hans will teach me. Hans will show me… because he’s my true love” she turns on her heel and runs up the stairs, locking herself in her room. She starts packing some of her things. While doing so, she calms down and starts thinking that maybe she was a little too harsh with her parents. But when she finishes packing everything she needs and sits down on her bed, waiting for them to knock at her door and try to apologize, she knows this was not her fault, it was theirs. Because even though she knew, deep within all the hurt and anger, that they loved her, they still didn’t call her. They still didn’t try to open the door._

_With tears in her eyes, she left without looking back, without a goodbye, as three shadows watched her drive away, wondering if this, even if just a little, was their fault._

\----

 It’s late. Like, really late. Maybe her parents aren’t at work anymore… Maybe she should just look for another place to stay.

 ‘No!’ she thinks firmly ‘You’re going to do this! Even if they probably hate you right now…’

  ** _Dr. Arende’s office_** , the plate on the door reads. With a shaking breath, she raises her fist and knocks three times before the door flies open to reveal her dad, his eyes wide and questioning. He moves to let her in and closes the door behind them. Before she could say anything, her mom envelops her in a hug so tight that she could hardly breathe. The tears start falling down her face and the sobs shake her body once again. She feels another pair of strong arms putting themselves around her and her mother, stroking her hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. The three of them fall to the ground like that, hugging and crying, because they love each other and because they were stupid to ever think the opposite.

-xxx-

It takes one week for Anna to go back to her cheery and normal self. One week of crying and wondering why Hans did what he did to her. One week of moping around on her pajamas and eating ice cream and whipped cream while watching movies. She seriously considered getting a cat. That would be the cherry on top of the cake.

 One week, but she finally decided that he wasn’t worth it, that he was the one who wasn’t good enough for her, without the ‘maybe’. She puts on some jeans and a tank top and rearranges her hair in two braids, hanging on her shoulders. She knows exactly where she wants to go.

-xxx-

“Anna?”

 “Olaf!” she exclaims, running to him and hugging him tightly “I missed you! You look different… it’s a good different. You look balder than before…. But not bald, _bald_ , you know? Just…” she smacks her head slightly “Oh, lol, the word ‘balder’ doesn’t exist, right? It doesn’t even make sense. But maybe it should exist, but I guess that would be used on bald people, not people with hair like you and me and… Wait, what?”

 Olaf laughs a little “I missed you too, Anna. Where have you been? I was hoping you’d come here to eat an ice cream. We have new chocolate flavors, you know” he says, sitting down with her in one of the tables.

 Olaf’s parents own four ice cream shops in Arendelle city, being that Olaf was in charge of the one they were in right now. The shops are always full with clients, and are known for having the best ice cream ever: ‘Snowmen Flavors’, they’re called.

 “And it’s summer! You know, we need to have picnics and go to the beach and do stuff like that” he finishes, after ordering two ice creams for them.

 “Ah… you know, lately I haven’t had the best time of my life” she responds, looking the menu over and over.

 “Oh?” Olaf asks, raising an eyebrow at her. Anna sighs and starts telling him about her parents and Hans and the wedding and the mugging and… _Arrow_ …

 “He really did that?” Olaf asked, incredulous.

 “Yes, he did. I was wrong about him… he wasn’t my true love” Anna says, feeling her heart tighten in her chest.

 “Aw, Anna. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you” he says, giving her a small hug “But… tell me about that _Arrow_ guy… did you like him?”

 Anna chokes on the ice cream she was eating and starts coughing furiously, tears running down her face as Olaf slaps her on the back to help.

 She clears her throat a little and throws apologetic looks to the people around them “I… I… of course not! I mean, I only met him, you know, that day, and I haven’t seen him since then”

 “That’s not an excuse, you started dating Hans the day after you met him” he reasons, but quickly regrets it as a look of sorrow crosses her features “I’m sorry, Anna”

 “No, no, you’re right. I think that… I wouldn’t want to fall in the same mistake, y’know”

 “Yeah, I understand you. Anyways, as much as I love you and like spending time with you, I have to go” he says in an apologetic tone.

 “Oh, no, no. It’s fine. I understand, really” she says, getting up from her chair. Olaf hugs her and kisses her on the cheek.

 “Don’t worry, Anna. Everything will work out” he says reassuringly, making Anna smile at him “And don’t forget about our picnic. Call me when you can”

 “Okay” Anna says, starting to walk out of the shop and waving at him.

 “And… uh…” she feels Olaf’s hesitation, so she turns around and raises an eyebrow “Tell… tell Elsa I said ‘hi’, will you?” he finally asks and Anna’s breath catches in her throat. She blinks a couple of times and nods softly, before waving again and leaving for good.

-xxx-

 Okay, everyone may think that what she’s about to do is stalker-y, but it is not! She’s just curious, since she never heard about the guy before the night he saved her. That’s why she’s in the library, sitting in front of a computer and searching on Google for ‘ _Arrow_ ’. Yep, she’s searching about him.

 “Hum… let’s see what I can find” she mutters to herself, scrolling down the page. It doesn’t make any sense! She’s searching for a person, not an object, pff…

  She decides to add ‘Arendelle City’ before ‘ _Arrow_ ’ and clicks on search. She clicks on a random link and a video starts playing.

 “Everyone is talking about him now, he has become a sensation! Arrow, Arendelle City’s new vigilante, saved the day once again. This time, our hero saved the mayor’s daughter, Karen Buckner, from being kidnapped. As always, he didn’t want to talk to us, but we managed to interview the sweet Karen” the camera shows a beautiful brunette, who smiled and gave a small wave “So, Karen” the reporter continues “Can you please tell us what happened?”

 “Well” Karen starts, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear “I was on the gardens all alone when four masked men appeared. They grabbed me and I tried to scream, but they covered my mouth. I kicked and punched, but they wouldn’t let go. That’s when Arrow appeared. He fought with them and saved me” she finishes, smiling sweetly.

 “And I heard that you decided to thank him… by kissing him” the reporter says, smirking and winking at the girl. Karen giggles and blushes.

 “Yeah, I… I think he deserved. If you’re watching this… thank you so much for saving me” she blows a kiss at the camera.

 “Watch out, Arrow. She’s a keeper” the reporter says, before everything goes black.

 Anna doesn’t know why her jaw’s clenched or why her heart is beating so fast. It’s not like she and Arrow have something…

 “I bet he has saved a lot of other girls before… maybe he and this Karen are dating or something. It’s not like I care” she says, shutting down the computer and grabbing her things, before storming out of the library.

  She keeps muttering things under her breath as she walks rapidly on the sidewalk. She doesn’t know why she’s so pissed off! It’s so unnerving; she just wants to punch somethi-

 “Ow!” she exclaims as her butt makes contact with the hard pavement.

 “Watch where you’re going!” the person she bumped into says. She looks up… and up… and up… God, how tall is this guy?

 “Excuse me…” she says, a deep shade of red spreading across her cheeks as she finally sees him. He has blond hair and amazing brown eyes that remind her of…chocolate. In one word: gorgeous. The guy’s eyes widen and he clears his throat, extending a hand towards her.

 “I-I’m sorry” he apologizes, pushing her upwards.

 “Wow” she breaths, wonderstruck at how easily he pulled her up “Thank you” she says, looking into his eyes. He looks back at her, but quickly looks away.

 “I’m sorry, but… do we… do we know each other?” she asks, and his head turns to look at her so fast, his eyes wide, that she giggles lightly.

 He chuckles nervously “We? You mean, you and I? Why would we-” another chuckle “Why would we know each other? I have never seen you, you have never seen me, we have never seen each other. Yeah… right… never, ever!” he says rapidly and she starts laughing loudly.

 “Right… okay, if you say so…” she answers offhandedly, brushing her jeans and picking up her purse from the ground. She looks into his eyes once again and, before she could stop it, she quickly says “I like your eyes. They remind me of chocolate. I really love chocolate. I mean, chocolate, the chocolate, not your eyes. Not that I don’t like your eyes, because I do. I… I’m going to shut up now…” she trails off and it’s his time to laugh.

 “Thanks” he says. She starts playing with the end of her braid nervously and opens her mouth to speak, but someone bumps into her again.

 “Get out of the way!” that said person screams. She’s about to proclaim when she notices that it’s a bandit running with a sac on his shoulder.

 “I have to go” the blond says, walking backwards as the sound of sirens fill the road. Anna looks at him with questioning eyes.

 “Hum… okay? See you around then?” she asks.

 “Yeah… uh, of course” he says, turning on his heel and starting to walk away.

 “Wait!” she calls out. He looks at her and she asks “What’s your name?”

 “Kristoff. My name is Kristoff” he answers, turning away from her and hurrying away. She doesn’t know why, but she has a strange feeling of déjà vu. She shakes it off and smiles to herself, walking home.


	3. Hi... again

“Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! This cannot be happening” Anna proclaims, as she keeps trying to bring the engine back to life “Come on… come on… come on!”

 “Hey, Anna, there’s a lot of chocolate inside the shop! You should see it!” Olaf exclaims excitedly, dropping innumerous bags on the back seat “I’ve bought some of them, you know, for our picnic. I also bought pie, bread, cheese, ham, lettuce and… uh…. Oh, right! Olives, too! This is going to be great!” he opens the passenger’s side door and peeks in, his pale blue eyes looking at her curiously “What’s wrong?”

 “The car won’t start!” Anna replies angrily, punching the steering wheel. A loud honk rings through the supermarket’s parking lot, making Anna’s eyes widen. She looks around the park to see a baby start to cry and various people glaring daggers at her.

  “Oops… sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” she starts saying quickly, waving her hands around frantically, until she realizes none of them is listening to her. She clears her throat awkwardly and straightens up, adjusting herself in her seat. Olaf is giggling at her, clutching his stomach and wiping away tears. She sticks her tongue out at him and crosses her arms over her chest indignantly.

 “What are we gonna do? We can’t go without a car” she says, looking at him with a raised eyebrow “Any ideas? Because I have none”

 Olaf gets a pensive expression on, thinking carefully through the problem, before his eyes light up in excitement.

 “I know!” he says, turning on his heel and walking away from her, before she even had the chance to ask him what was his idea. She stared after him, watching him fish his phone out of his jeans’ pocket and dialing a number. He raised the phone to his ear and started to talk to the person on the other line happily. She chuckles a little. Olaf had always been like this. He’s friendly, funny and caring. She couldn’t ask for a better childhood friend.

 Since Anna was born till she was five or so, they were inseparable. That is, until the day her parents started shutting everyone out… the day her sister started shutting _her_ out. Of course, they’d still meet once in a while, but it wasn’t the same. Before… _that_ day, Olaf’s family used to have dinner at her house once a week, or maybe even more. She and Elsa used to go to public schools and their family spent a lot of time together. But all of a sudden, everything started to collapse. Both families grew apart and with that, Anna became lonely. Her parents started working more, focusing on the hospital that her family had owned for generations. Her dad was its president and her mom was his right hand. Both of them were doctors and since an early age, Anna and Elsa showed excitement and pleasure in doing the same.

 But, of course, from Elsa was expected more. A lot more. She was the oldest, which meant she would be the next president. Anna didn’t mind, she never liked business, anyway, but she couldn’t understand how Elsa was supposed to rule an entire hospital and talk business with people if she could barely get out of her room and talk to her own family.

 Anna missed her. She missed her _so_ much, it was almost unbearable. She missed how she protected her from bad people. She missed when they shared a room. She missed their late night games. She missed drinking hot chocolate with her. She missed cuddling next to the fire when it was too cold. But most of all, she missed playing in the snow, riding their sled and building snowmen.

 She wonders what happened. What made her start to shut everyone out, what made them grow apart. And, of course, that lead to her and Olaf growing distant from each other as well. At least, until last month, when the Hans’ problem happened. Since then on, Olaf and she became inseparable once again, and Anna was truly happy with that.

“Everything’s fine! We’re _so_ going to have this picnic!” Olaf exclaims, approaching her once again.

  “We are? You didn’t tell me what this plan of yours was” Anna asks, raising a curious eyebrow.

 “Oh, don’t worry” Olaf says, waving a dismissive hand and giggling lightly “Everything’s already solved”

 “And…?”

 “And a friend of mine is coming here to help us with your car” he finishes, plopping down in the passenger’s seat next to her.

 Anna opens her mouth to say something but Olaf cuts her off “He’s a mechanic”

 “Oh” she replies “And… uh… how’d you meet him?”

 “It’s a fun story, actually” Olaf starts, turning in the seat to face her “We met in high school. He was in my class and was an outsider. I started talking to him and trying to befriend him, but he really didn’t want that that much. But I didn’t give up and now, we’re both glad I didn’t. It took time, but we became really close and have stayed that way till these days.  He’s a little rough around the edges, but once you get to know him, you realize he’s a great person and an even greater friend”

 “He sounds… nice” she says truthfully, smiling softly at Olaf, who nods in response “What’s his name?”

 “His name’s-” Olaf starts saying, but a tap on the passenger’s door glass interrupts him. He looks at the person outside and smiles widely “Kristoff!” he exclaims, before getting out of the car and hugging the blond man.

 “Heey Olaf” Kristoff chuckles lightly, patting his friend on the back.

 “How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in a while” Olaf says, letting go of Kristoff.

 “I’ve been fine. Business’s running low lately, but I’m managing it” he says, raising an eyebrow as he notices the red-haired girl standing next to the car, looking away from them. When he realizes who she is, a blush starts spreading across his cheeks (even though he doesn’t know why).

 A dog trots to them happily, jumping to Olaf and licking him delightedly. Olaf giggles happily and crouches down next to him, petting him.

 “Hi Sven! Who’s a cute little doggie?”

 Kristoff breaks from his trance and shakes his head to Olaf “How many times do I have to tell you not to talk to him like that?”

 “He likes it”

 “I’m sure he doesn’t”

 Olaf gets up from the ground and brushes the dust off his jeans. He remembers Anna standing there and walks up to her, dragging her to meet them.

 “Anna, this is-” Olaf starts saying, but Anna interrupts him.

 “It’s Kristoff, right?” she asks, looking at him. He nods and his lips quirk up a little.

 “You know each other?” Olaf asks, looking between the two of them.

 “We met-” they both start saying. Kristoff clears his throat awkwardly and Anna giggles nervously.

 “You go” he says.

 “No, no! Please, continue” Anna says, gesturing towards him.

 “Okay” he says, turning to Olaf “We met the other day, when I sav-” he stops mid-sentence, his eyes widening slightly “Uh… I mean, we bumped into each other in the street. Yup, that’s the first time I met her”

 “Ooookay” Olaf says “That’s good. Anyways, Anna, this is Sven” he says, pointing to the dog sitting obediently at Kristoff’s feet.

 Anna smiles softly and crouches down next to the dog, scratching him behind the ears “Hi there, Sven. I’m Anna. It’s nice to meet you” she says, making him bark at her in response. He licks her in the face and she giggles loudly. She stays with him for a while, petting him and playing with him. When she finally gets up, she sees Kristoff already working on her car and Olaf nowhere in sight.

 She approaches him slowly, hands behind her back and a small smile playing on her lips.

 “Nice dog you’ve got here” she says, pointing to the dog laying at his feet. Kristoff looks up at her from what he’s doing and nods.

 “I know” he says, smiling softly at Sven “I’m actually surprised he liked you that much. He’s usually pretty wary; doesn’t trust anyone that easily” he dusts his hand off and runs it through his hair “He’s only that sociable when he senses that it’s a good person” he mutters before he can stop himself. He looks up at her quickly and tries to take it back “I mean… uh… he likes you because you’re a good person. At least he sensed so. I hope he’s right” he stops talking before digging his hole any deeper.

 Anna giggles softly and smiles sweetly at him “Thank you” she says, blushing lightly “What’s his story?”

 “What?”

 “His story. Since when do you have him? What’s his breed? Things like that” she explains, leaning against the car to listen attentively.

 “Oh. Well, for starters, he doesn’t have a specific breed. He’s mongrel. I found him when I was seventeen. I think he was about two weeks old at the time” he stops for a moment to pick up a tool from the ground before continuing “I decided to keep him and take care of him. We’ve been inseparable since then. He’s eight years-old now”

 “Aw… that’s so sweet” Anna says, her eyes soft as she looks at Sven. He was a big dog with beautiful brown fur except for his neck and paws, where it was white. She pets him once again and he melts in her touch.

 “What about you? What’s _your_ story?” she hears him ask and her hand freezes in its spot. Where to start? There’s so much to say, so much to tell. But no… she’s not ready to tell it to someone. Especially when it’s only the second time she sees him. Yeah, she totally has a good feeling about him, besides, he’s Olaf’s friend. She feels like she can trust him.

 But there’s another part of her… a part that’s screaming louder now, at least, louder than before; a part that reminds her of Hans, of what happened before; a part that’s screaming for her to slow down, to get away from Kristoff, to not trust him.

 “It’s… it’s quite irrelevant, really” she says, turning away from him.

 He raises a questioning eyebrow at her sudden change of behavior. Just when he’s about to ask what’s wrong, Olaf comes back.

 “Hey guys!” he exclaims happily.

 Anna smiles at him “Where’ve you been?” she asks.

 “I went to the bathroom” he explains simply, shrugging it off.

 Kristoff shuts the car’s hood and wipes his hands in a cloth, turning to them “Everything’s alright now, you can go”

 “Hey, Kristoff, come with us!” Olaf says, grinning hugely “You know I and Sven love picnics! He’s in the need of a run through the park”

 Anna looks at Olaf incredulously and then back at Kristoff, who’s looking directly at her. She shifts uncomfortably under his gaze.

 “Uh… I don’t think so, Olaf. Sven’s perfectly fine and we’ve got work to do back in the shop” he answers after eyeing Anna carefully.

 “Oh, come on! You know you want to! Pleaaaaaaseeee? For me? And besides, you said you haven’t had much work lately”

 “I never said that!”

 “Yes you did. At least, that’s my interpretation of ‘business’s running low lately’” he says, air-quoting what Kristoff said earlier.

 Kristoff starts stuttering, trying to find an excuse not to go, before sighing loudly, giving up “I just need to take a bath and pick up Sven’s leash. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

 “Yes!” Olaf exclaims victoriously “Everything’s fine. See you there!” he says, dragging Anna to the car and waving back at him.

 Kristoff laughs loudly, waving at him too. He sees them go off before whistling for Sven to come along and entering his own truck, driving off to his house.

 After all, some people aren’t as uninteresting as he always assumed.


	4. You're wrong!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys. I haven't had the time to write lately... And I think I should warn you that I'm not going to be able to update regularly. I'm really sorry :( But I''ll try my best, I promise! Whenever I have the time, I'll try to write. Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Have some Kristoff!  
> P.S: The Carter brothers are the Duke of Weselton's bodyguards.

 The picnic went by smoothly… as did the next few days, that turned into weeks, that turned into months. Anna was really hesitant at first, trying to take small steps at a time. After all, she didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. But as time went by and she got to really know Kristoff (mostly thanks to Olaf), she saw that she didn’t need to put up all those barriers that she thought she needed to protect her heart. He’s a very honest and trustworthy person, as she came to find out. They became really good friends, talking almost every day. She feels- she _knows_ \- that she can trust him and she’s pretty sure he knows he can trust _her_. 

 She’s thankful to Olaf for presenting (even though they had already met) him to her. It’s been… the best time of her life, actually. She’s never felt so happy, so… loved. Because she knows she is. Loved by her parents, loved by Olaf, loved by Kristoff and Sven…

 But there’s still one person missing…

-xxx-

 Anna hesitates, her hand stopping inches away from the hardwood door. She stares intensely at it, wondering what secrets it holds within, why it isn’t as easily opened as it should. It’s stupid, really, but she wonders this every single time she passes by.

 She shakes her head a little, taking a deep breath. She knocks. Three times, as always. She waits for a while, expecting a response, before knocking again. She’s already used to this, after all, it’s been years of her knocking on the same door almost every day to try and get her sister to talk with her. But that doesn’t mean it hurts less than the other times. To be honest, she thinks it hurts more every single time.

 “Elsa?” she asks timidly, voice low. When, once again, no response comes from the room, she sighs softly, her eyes trained to the floor.

 “You know… they’re saying that it’s going to start snowing sometime this week” still no response “I was wondering that maybe we could… you know, play in it like we used to when we were little. We should totally invite Olaf! I know you both like winter and snow very much. Even though his favorite season is summer. I swear I never understood how you and him weren’t cold. During winter, I always had to dress way too many clothes, while you guys walked around with only a sweater or something like that” she chuckles sadly, remembering those times.

 “Uh… anyways, I just thought that I should check on you… I hope you’re fine. Come downstairs to have dinner with us, sometime” she says, voice becoming tight “I miss you… I wish you’d talk to me” a tear rolls down her cheek as she presses her forehead against the door. 

 “I… I love you” she sniffles a little and turns on her heel to get away from there. With her rush, she misses out the muffled ‘I love you too’ that comes from within the room.

-xxx-

“So, what is exactly happening in Arendelle City? Who is this Arrow hero? Or maybe villain for all we know! Nobody ever got the chance to properly talk with the guy! He doesn’t like interviews, so how can you people just assume he’s a hero?!?” Luke Weselton’s voice rang throughout the apartment, as irritating and obnoxious as ever. Usually, Kristoff would turn the TV off or change channel, but what he was talking about caught his attention, as well as Sven’s. He quickly wraps a towel around his waist and rushes to the living room, sitting down on the couch and turning up the volume.

 “Today on our show, we have three special guests to debate this problem: Oaken Abel” people start clapping when a very large man with a moustache and a huge smile on his face enters, waving at the audience and greeting them with “Hoohoo”

 “And the Carter brothers, John and David” two men walk in with serious expressions on their faces, ignoring the audience’s cheers and claps. They both sit down next to Oaken, who greets them. They give him a sideways glance before crossing their arms and looking to Weselton.

 “Way to be rude” Kristoff mumbles darkly.

“So” Luke Weselton starts once again “I am sure that you’ve heard the rumors by now. Who in Arendelle City hasn’t? But the real matter here is: is he really a hero? What do you think?”

 The Oaken guy raises his hand and waves it excitedly “Please, do tell Mr. Abel”

“I honestly think that Arrow’s a good person who wants to help reduce the crime here in Arendelle” Oaken starts saying with a heavy Norwegian accent. Kristoff smiles a little to himself, appreciating the man’s kind words “He wouldn’t feel the need to help people if he didn’t have good intentions!”

 “Mr. Abel, some people pretend to be good to hide their other side. The bad side” Weselton said, approaching the man carefully.

 “Yes, that’s true, but-”

 “He should let the police do their jobs!” David Carter said “As part of the police department of Arendelle, I think he’s not helping us! He’s interfering with our job! So I honestly suggest that that Arrow guy stays home and takes care of his own business instead of messing around with others’”

 “I completely agree with my brother, here. I’m not a police officer, but I know that they are perfectly capable of doing their jobs just fine. They don’t need some guy pining the bad guys to the walls with his arrows!”

 Kristoff’s jaw clenches, his hands clasped tightly together. The muscles on his back are just as tense as he feels. He just wants to punch the men’s faces so badly…

 “But I don’t think he’s interfering with your jobs! He’s trying to help you! Arrow has saved a lot of lives lately! Arendelle’s crime has been continuously increasing throughout this last months, and he’s been watching over us. He’s a good vigilante, he takes care of people” Oaken defends once again, making the audience clap.

 “Mr. Abel, I think you’re not the adequate person to tell me whether or not the crimes are increasing! I am a police officer, so I know better than anyone in this room if the crimes are increasing or not! And I am telling you that we don’t need help! We have everything under control” David speaks once again, eyeing Oaken carefully “If Arrow wanted to protect people and save lives, he should’ve become a police officer”

“I am very sorry Mr. Carter, but I think we all know that the Arendelle’s police department only cares about some cases! When you see that it’s important or that it involves an important person, you work way faster than you would if it were just a random citizen, who works as hard as he can to take care of his family! So, don’t come with your criticism towards me” Oaken states, narrowing his eyes at David “Unlike you, Arrow protects everyone, whether if they’re the president’s daughter or a homeless wandering around!”

 David Carter curses under his breath and when he’s about to talk, his brother interrupts him.

 “Oh, really? If he’s such a nice person as you so put it, then why doesn’t he show himself? Why does he save people and then run away before they can properly thank him? Why doesn’t he show his face if what he’s doing is so right?”

 “He doesn’t want to reveal his identity because-”

 “Because he’s scared! Because he knows that what he’s doing is wrong in so many levels! I’ll tell you what: if he were the hero you all proclaim, he wouldn’t stay hidden from his people, he wouldn’t have _the need_ to hide.” John Carter finishes, leaning back against his chair as a wide smirk crosses his features. Oaken’s at a loss of words and so is the audience. When Oaken recomposes himself and is about to proclaim that no, it isn’t any of that and no, Arrow just doesn’t want people to feel in debt with him, Weselton talks once again.

 “I personally share the same opinion as the Cater brothers. You are completely right” he says, shaking both of their hands. He turns to the camera and smiles widely “This is it for our weekly debate! But stay in there, because next, we have ‘Hidden Dancers’, the new program in ‘ArendelleTV’ in which I participate in as one of the most brilliant dancers! Don’t forget to share your opinion about this debate on our site-”

 Kristoff turns the TV off, throwing the remote to the other side of the couch with a bit too much force.

 “Can you believe these three Sven!” he says angrily to the dog, who barks, confused “I’ve been trying to help this city for months now and this is the appreciation I get! Some fucking assholes trying to tell people that I’m a possible danger to them!”

 He keeps pacing back and forth, glaring murderously at everything in sight, until the phone rings. He sighs tiredly and rubs a hand over his face, picking up the phone. He presses the answer button without even looking at the screen.

 “Hello?”

 “ _Kristoff! What have you… what are you doing, friend? Is everything okay around there?_ ” Olaf asks from the other line.

“Yes, Olaf, I’ve seen the debate” Kristoff says and Olaf audibly gulps.

 “ _Have you? You do know that most of the people don’t think like that. You know Weselton, he’s always over dramatic! Never sees the good side in things… no wonder he doesn’t see the good side in you! Besides, those other two are just jealous that you’re doing a_ way _better job than they are!_ ”

Kristoff chuckles lightly, shaking his head a little “Thanks Olaf”

 “ _You’re welcome! And besides, I’m just telling the truth. You wait and see, people aren’t gonna be fooled that easily! They know that what you’re doing is the right thing_ ”

 “I hope so… I _really_ hope so” Kristoff says, rubbing his temples soothingly. He suddenly hears a beep coming from his phone and he looks at the screen. A smile immediately forms on his lips as he brings the phone back to his ear “Hey, Olaf? I’ve got to hang up now, Anna’s calling”

 “ _Oh, Anna’s calling… Okay, so I’ll just hang up while talking with you because: Anna’s calling! I can’t believe you!_ ”

 Kristoff laughs at him, imagining his fake pout “Don’t worry Olaf, we’ll talk later, okay?”

“ _Okay, okay, just go talk to your Anna!_ ” Olaf replies, and Kristoff just knows that he’s mocking him right now “ _See you later! And tell Anna I said hi!_ ”

 “Okay. Bye Olaf” he hangs up Olaf’s call and answers Anna’s.

 “Hey Anna. How are you?” he asks, trying to sound casual. He’s been acting kind of weird around her lately because he started to have this… strange feeling in his gut whenever he was with her. It had started about a month ago, when the four of them (Kristoff, Anna, Olaf and Sven) were just hanging out and she accidently tripped and completely spilled her hot chocolate all over his sweater.

\----

_“Oh my God, Kristoff! I am so sorry, I just- I don’t know what happened! I tripped and I’m so damn clumsy and now your sweater’s all dirty and I’m-” she kept rambling, while trying to clean his sweater with a few napkins she had. Her hands trembled, her face was all red from embarrassment and she just couldn’t look up at him._

_“Hey, hey, hey” he said, softly grasping at her shaky hands and rubbing soothing circles onto her skin “It’s okay Anna, it’s just a sweater. I know it was an accident”_

_“But I should’ve been more careful! You know I’m a mess and… oh, God, I’m just so sorry Kristoff!” she keeps saying as she looks down at her feet._

_“Anna, look at me” he tells her, maintaining his hold on her hands. She lifts her head a bit, but not enough so that he could see her eyes. He gently lifts her chin up so that she could look him in the eyes “I’m fine. It was an accident. Plus, I can totally wash this sweater and it’ll look as if nothing ever happened to it, okay?” she nods wordlessly and apologizes once again. He shakes his head a little and chuckles lightly._

  _That’s when he starts feeling it. That feeling in his gut as he looks down at her and at the way she’s licking her lips… and he has the sudden urge to kiss her, soft and slow to melt all of her worries away and-_

_A cough “If you guys finally decided to stop arguing because of a sweater, we should get going” Olaf says, interrupting Kristoff’s trance. He quickly lets go of her hands and rubs at the back of his neck awkwardly._

_“Uh… yeah, right, let’s get going” he said and started to walk ahead of everyone._

_\----_

 “ _I’m… fine. What about you? Are you okay?_ ” she asks.

 “I’m good” he answers, before muttering an ‘As good as I can be’ under his breath “But you don’t seem all that ‘fine’ as you so put it. What’s wrong?” he asks worriedly.

 “ _I just…_ ” he hears her sigh before “ _It’s Elsa_ ”

 “Did she talk to you?” he knows Anna and her older sister don’t get along too well. For what Anna says, she barely sees her sister and she’s been trying to talk with her for the last months.

 “ _No…_ ” she responds weakly “ _It’s just that… I don’t know, it’s kind of difficult. I’m actually hoping that she comes down to have dinner with us… at least, I told her to. It’s not like she actually does what I want. Being locked in that room isn’t healthy for her. It messes with her neurological system and-_ ”

 “Oh, there you go, coming all doctor-y on me. Don’t forget you’re not a doctor… yet” he says, trying to light the mood up. She laughs a little and he’s pretty sure he never felt so happy to make someone laugh.

 “ _You know it! Just don’t mess with me, or I’ll start giving you an explanation about how-_ ”

 “Okay, time out, time out” he says, chuckling “You don’t need to start your lecture over the phone!”

 “ _If you say so!_ ” she says, giggling. A silence settles between them, but Kristoff senses that it’s _everything_ but comfortable.

 “Just give her space. I know she’ll come around eventually” he says.

 “ _What?_ ”

 “Your sister. Give her space. If she’s been locking herself away for all these years, she must have a reason. Just wait and when she’s ready, she’ll talk to you about it, I’m sure”

 She’s silent for a long while, pondering his words carefully.

 “ _Thank you, Kristoff. You’re right, I’ll just wait for her to come around_ ”

 “You’re welcome Anna. After all, what are friends for?” he says, the strange feeling in his gut returning with full force. He ignores it and checks his watch. He sighs.

 “I’m sorry, Anna, but I’ve got to hang up”

 “ _Oh… okay. Bye Kristoff_ ” she says softly.

 “Bye Anna” he answers back, hanging up the call. He gets up from his couch and stretches up. He looks down to himself “I can’t believe I’ve been walking around like this” he says, adjusting the towel around his waist. Time to get ready for another night of patrolling the city.

-xxx-

“Anna, sweetheart, where are you going?” her father asks as he watches her adjust her coat.

 “I’m going to make Kristoff a surprise! I haven’t seen him in a while and he didn’t look that fine over the phone. He thinks that I didn’t notice it, but I did” she says, spreading her auburn locks around her shoulders. She picks up her scarf from its hanger and quickly wraps it comfortingly around her neck.

 “You’re going to take your car, I hope?” her mother asks worriedly, getting up from her chair to walk over to her “It’s dark outside and you know that lately it’s not been the safest around here” her mother starts buttoning her jacket up, looking at her with soft eyes.

 “Don’t worry, mom. I know a shortcut to Kristoff’s. I’ll be there in no time at all” Anna responds, kissing her mom on the cheek, before walking up to her dad.

 “You should invite that Kristoff boy to come and have dinner with us sometime. You haven’t stopped talking about him in the last few months” her dad says, kissing her forehead. Anna blushes a little and nods.

 “I’ll see what I can do. He’s a little awkward around people, but I’m sure he’ll accept your invitation” she picks up her purse and keys and, with a ‘see you later’, she was out the door.

 A cold breeze washes over her as soon as she’s on the street. She tightens her coat around herself, a shiver running through her spine, as she walks down the path. She hopes to get there in ten or fifteen minutes at least, but with this weather, it seems as if her legs are frozen over. She honestly doesn’t remember having such a cold winter in Arendelle City. Sure, it _had_ cold winters, but nothing like this.

 A bolt of lightning suddenly lights the sky up, its thunder coming moments after, a loud ‘boom’ that could shake the ground just as easily as an earthquake. Anna shivers again, but not because of the cold this time. God knows how much she hates thunderstorms. She quickens her pace, determined to get to Kristoff’s as fast as she could. She looks up at the sky, wonders how fast it darkened since she left home. No starts could be seen, such as the moon. At least she had the lights of the street, allowing her to see everything in front of her or… not. She remembers crossing this shortcut a few times before, but always in the daylight. She never really noticed that it had no lamps to light it up. She considered going back home, but then she wonders: ‘He would’ve done the same for me’. So, with that thought always present on her mind, she keeps going through the dark alley.

 She stops suddenly, looking around her. She’s not sure, but she thinks that she heard something… like a can rolling somewhere. She breaths deeply through her nose before continuing down the alley.

A few moments later, she hears one of the innumerous trash cans she passed by falling to the ground. Her heart quickens its pace as she turns around, trying to see if something- or _someone_ \- was following her in the darkness. Without the moon to light up the alley, it’s really difficult for her to see a palm ahead of her. But that doesn’t mean she can’t feel.

 That doesn’t mean she can’t hear a heavy, hot breath behind her.

 She runs. That’s really the only thing she can afford to do. But she doesn’t even manage to get three steps away, and next thing she knows, he’s on top of her, whispering dirty things into her ear and unbuttoning her coat. The coat that her mother so carefully buttoned up. And she’s struggling, trying to get him off of her, but he’s heavy and she starts screaming. Screaming at the top of her lungs, hoping that it doesn’t fall into deaf ears.

 She cries, praying to God that someone, _anyone_ would get him off of her, because she knows what he’s about to do.  She knows what’s crossing his mind.

 And after what looks like an eternity, he’s finally off of her. She wonders if she’s dead… if he actually managed to touch her the way that only one man ever touched. And she carefully opens her eyes upon hearing him gasp for air. And the scene before her is completely unexpected. There’s someone punching the guy with such force that eventually knocks him out. She stands up from the cold, damp ground, because it started raining and she didn’t even realize it. The person who saved her turns around and she gasps softly. It’s been months since their first meeting, but he’s still the same. Same domino mask, same hood covering his features, same strong jaw, same bow and same quiver of arrows resting on his back. And she finds herself approaching him carefully.

 “Thank you. For saving me once again”

 “What are you doing here Anna?!?” he hisses under his breath and she can’t help but raise her eyebrows at him. How does he know her name?

 “How… how do you know my name?”

He ignores her question and starts approaching her, getting a hold of her wrists and shaking her slightly “It’s dark! You know there’s been a lot of crime lately and you walk yourself right into the darkest alley you could find?! What were you thinking?” he asks forcefully, continuing to shake her. She starts crying softly, feeling so, so _guilty_.

 “I… I’m so sorry, I was just trying to visit a friend of mine, because I know he’s not okay and-”

He’s kissing her. Deep and rough, but sweet at the same time. And she can’t help but kiss back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and pulling him down towards her, eyes fluttering shut. It’s strange. They’ve only seen each other two times but she feels like she’s known him for her whole life. And they fit perfectly together and he makes her feel safe.

 The rain keeps falling heavily over them, their clothes completely wet, her hair clutching to her forehead. He breaks away from her and she looks up at him.

 “I- I’m sorry” he says quickly, turning away from her. She reaches a hand over to his shoulder and is about to say something but no words come out of her mouth. She feels her lids getting heavy and she falls to her knees. In an instant, he’s holding her in his arms, desperately saying her name over and over again.

 She nods and lets a little smile play at her lips before darkness finally takes over.


	5. Protecting her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right.... ehehehe, because I know I could never express how sorry I am for how long this took, I won't bother you too much. Just want to thank you all for being so patient and for not giving up on this story and obviously for your support. Last but not least, I want to thank always-aaack-for-everlark (on tumblr) for beta-ing this story! :D All mistakes are mine. Enjoy this chapter and I hope it's worth the wait :)

 Kristoff closes the door to his apartment with a swift movement of his foot, his eyes never leaving the face of the limp girl on his arms. He snuggles her closer to his chest while carrying her to his couch. She keeps shivering like a leaf in his arms, and her lips are starting to turn slightly blue.

 He knows he’s taken quite a bit of time to arrive to his apartment, and that certainly didn’t help Anna’s condition. He still has to figure out what happened to her, but right now, he’s more worried about getting her warm and comfortable. He gently places her on his couch, brushing a strand of hair out of her face and letting his hand rest there for a little while. He eyes her face carefully, his eyes roaming all over it, trying to memorize every detail of her. He keeps wondering what that flutter in his heart is each time he’s this close to her, every time she smiles at him. It’s hard to tell; he's never felt anything like this. He feels butterflies in his stomach and he can’t stop thinking about their kiss… he didn’t realize how much he’d longed for her lips, for her touch, for everything _Anna_.

 He shakes his head slightly, clearing it from those thoughts. He needs to focus on her well-being right now. He can daydream about her later. It seems like her lips keep turning bluer with each passing minute.

_I need to undress her_ , he thinks, _these damp clothes aren’t doing her any good_.

 A quick blush starts spreading on his cheeks as the thought sinks in, his heart quickening even more on his chest. _If my heart keeps racing like this, it might as well jump out of my throat_.

 He takes a deep breath and gets up, turning towards his room. When he opens the door, Sven jumps excitedly on top of him, licking him in greeting. Kristoff chuckles quietly, scratching him behind the ears and rubbing his neck soothingly, while whispering “I’m here, buddy. I’m here”

 Sven seems to nod and let’s Kristoff get inside the room. The latter walks to his wardrobe, stopping once he opens its door and looks at himself in the mirror. He too is completely drenched, his clothes dripping on the floor, each drop marking his path in their wake. He quickly snatches his domino mask off of his face and tosses it inside with a little too much force. He sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

 He doesn’t want to be Arrow now. He just wants to be Kristoff. Kristoff Bjorgman, normal guy with a dog and amazing friends. Simple as that. No mask, no hiding, no saving, no nothing.

 He wonders sometimes if he made the right choice when he decided to become Arrow. Today is definitely one of those times. It’s always days like this where he wonders if he’s doing a good job at it. It’s days like this, when he doesn’t actually save someone, that this doubt settles in and starts roaming its way in his heart, staying there to remind him how much better he could be.

_Get it together! Now’s not the time for your insecurities to kick in!_ , he scolds himself. Grabbing some blankets from the wardrobe, he marches back to his living room, placing them next to Anna.

 “Okay. I can do this. It’s not like I’ve never undressed someone before. It’s easy...” he tries to calm himself, taking deep breaths. With shaking hands, he starts unbuttoning her coat and taking it off of her carefully. Once he’s done with that, he’s finally calmer and his breaths are normal again. “See, it was easy” he says, smiling to himself. He starts taking off the other layers of clothing, piling them next to him on the ground, until Anna’s in only her underwear. He tries, he _really_ tries, but it’s difficult to tear his eyes off of her. She’s so beautiful; it’s like he’s actually looking at an angel.

 Little freckles adorn the entirety of her body, kissing her skin in a way that makes Kristoff’s eyes soften and a smile to appear on his face. He starts tracing a finger over some of them, goose bumps showing up across her skin after his tender touches brush over her. She keeps shivering a lot, and he suddenly notices how soaked the couch is. Along with the blankets, he picks her up again to carry her to his room, where he lays her on his bed and tucks her in under the blankets and the bed sheets to ensure she's as warm as possible.

 It’s only then that he remembers that he’s also soaked to the bone, and he decides to go take a quick shower. He starts walking out of the room before stopping abruptly. He turns around slowly, looking at Anna sleeping peacefully in his bed. Her shivering is starting to subside and relief finally settles in. He hesitates for a moment before walking over to her and kissing her softly in the forehead. He thinks he sees a small smile on Anna’s lips, but brushes it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

 After his shower, he decides to make tea, in case Anna wakes up. _That’ll certainly help to warm her up_.

 He picks up two mugs from his cabinet and puts some herbs inside. After the water boils, he pours it in the mugs and brings them to his room, placing one on top of the bedside table next to Anna. He walks to the other side of the bed and sits down, drinking from his own mug and staring at the ceiling. He finally has some time to clear his head and think properly.

_Okay… let me ignore the fact that Anna’s almost completely naked next to me_ , he thinks, fighting off another blush but failing miserably. He starts wondering if he should’ve kissed her… he knows that he wanted to, but he honestly has no idea if that was the right thing to do, or if she’d even wanted it as much as he did.

_And besides_ , he starts, _it was Arrow._ All _Arrow. She’s going to wake up and remember her kiss with Arrow, not with Kristoff_ , he huffs sadly, looking into the depths of his tea. _Even though… to me, it was all Kristoff when I kissed her_.

 He feels like the world’s biggest idiot right now, his head about to explode. Why did he have to kiss her as Arrow? It’s not like he can approach her now and just say: “Hey, you remember when Arrow kissed you? Right, I’m Arrow, so, that means that _I_ was the one who kissed you!”, that would just be plain stupid. He promised himself he wouldn’t tell Anna about it for her own safety, even though he’s itching to finally let the weight of this secret off of his shoulders. But taking it off of his own shoulders meant putting it onto Anna’s shoulders, and he couldn’t afford to do that. He already knows how much she’s been through and keeps going through with her sister, her studies and everything else in her life. He _won’t_ let her worry for him and his own life and problems.

 His bed shaking snaps him out of his thoughts. He turns towards Anna, whose shivering started once again. He quickly wraps the blankets tighter around her and places a soft hand on her forehead. He finds it really weird that she doesn’t have a fever, but for his sake, thanks God she doesn’t. When he sees her shivering is not stopping, he puts himself under the blankets and carefully grabs her, pulling her flush against his chest, hoping to give her some of his body heat. This clearly works, as her body stops shaking and a contented sigh leaves her lips. He feels her snuggling closer to his chest, her hands coming to grab his shoulders and her breath hot against his neck. He can’t even begin to explain how right this feels to him. _It’s weird how I just felt the need to warm her up and instantly grabbed her, without a second of hesitation,_ he thinks _. Almost like I know that she's meant to be here._

 He eventually falls asleep, only to wake up the next morning to Anna’s stirring in his embrace. He quickly lets go of her, the events of the night before rushing back to him like a runaway train. He gets up from the bed as she sits up, a confused look on her face.

 “Kristoff? What-” she’s interrupted by a yawn “What am I doing here?” she asks softly, her eyes boring into his asking for an explanation.

 “You-” he starts, swallowing the sudden lump on his throat “I found you passed out on the street yesterday and I brought you here” he says simply, shrugging in a nonchalant way, hoping she believes it. Anna stays silent for long time, staring at him, trying to remember that night.

 “I… remember Arrow saving me” she finally says “Then he… he…” a sudden blush starts appearing on her cheeks, as her hand flies involuntarily to her mouth. A dreamy sigh escapes her lips as her gaze travels far away from the room. Kristoff’s fists clench as he looks away, scolding himself again for kissing her with the mask on.

 Anna focuses on the conversation once again, leaving the little detail of the kiss out. “But after that, I don’t remember anything else. You say you found me on the street… Arrow wasn’t there with me?” she asks, a look of hurt flashing in her eyes.

 Kristoff looks at her, and it’s as if he suddenly can’t breathe. That look on her face, the look that says she doesn’t – or at least, doesn’t want to – believe that Arrow would leave her in the middle of the street, at night, while raining, all by herself.

 “Yes” he says, not being able to look her in the eye “you were all alone when I found you”

  She doesn’t respond him for such a long time that he eventually looks at her. She’s up from the bed, a blanket wrapped around her body. She doesn’t mention anything about being only in her underwear as she walks out of the room. Kristoff stays behind, dumbfounded, before quickly following her out of the room. She’s in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water.

 “Where are my clothes?” she asks him, her back facing him and there's a tension in the room so palpable he thinks that he could reach out and grab it if he tried to.

 “Uh… w-well, they’re…” he stammers out, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Why is she mad at him all of a sudden? Even Sven, who was happily standing next to her not so long ago, now is hiding behind the fridge, undoubtedly feeling the tension just as much as Kristoff does. “They’re still all wet. It wouldn’t do you any good if you actually got dressed in them” he finally manages to say “You can borrow some of my clothes if you want” he offers her, hoping to calm her anger.

 She stays there, grabbing the sink with shaky hands full of anger. He doesn’t know what else to say, he just stays there, staring at her, waiting for her to come around. He doesn’t have to wait long, because a few seconds later, she turns around to face him, wearing an angry frown on her face as she marches towards him. She pushes him hard, making him stumble backwards a little. He gapes at her, trying to understand what made her burst like this, but she quickly explains herself.

 “Why are you lying to me?!?” she screams at him, and he doesn’t think his expression could become anymore taken aback “Yes, Kristoff, I know you’re lying to me, but I don’t understand why! I know you’re hiding something, just tell me already! Don’t you trust me?!” She keeps screaming, while her clenched fists keep punching him on the chest. “I can’t take anymore lies, I just want to know the truth. What is it that you’re hiding Kristoff?”

 He gently grabs her wrists, stopping her incoming punches before they can make contact again. She looks up at him, her eyes full with sadness and sorrow, and he can instantly tell that he’s reminding her of her sister. He opens his mouth to tell her everything, because he too is tired of lies, but nothing comes out of it. He knows that he can’t tell her, so he closes his mouth again. They stay like that for a while, him holding her wrists and her looking into his eyes as her own start to well up with tears.

 “I… I’m sorry” he finally says. And that’s all he has to say, really, because he can’t put her in that kind of danger. He knows that some people have started to hate him, and are willing to find out his weaknesses so that they can use them against him. Anna has become one of his weaknesses, finding her way into his heart and claiming her space there, not caring if he actually let her or not. And he couldn’t afford to lose her, to know that she got hurt because of him.

 So… he decides to let her go. Because deep down, he knows that’s the best thing to do, even though his heart is screaming at him not to do it. _You’re protecting her_ , he thinks.

 She stares at him for a while longer, before closing her eyes and shaking her head, squirming out of his grasp. She walks into his bathroom and locks herself there, only coming out a few moments later, dressed in her clothes and looking down at the ground.

 “Thank you for taking care of me” she whispers. He just nods and looks away from her, trying to stay strong. _You’re protecting her_.

 Anna looks at him once more, before turning away and walking out of his apartment. The echo the door makes resonates in his empty heart, being a constant reminder of what he’d just lost. _You’re protecting her_ , he keeps telling himself. Maybe he actually starts believing it.

 He sits on his couch, rubbing his face tiredly, trying to keep his own tears in.


	6. Memories

 Kristoff turns over and over in his bed, his eyelids pressed tightly together, as he tries to get sleep to overcome him. But, as it has been over the past two weeks, he finds it hard to get just that. Every single night, he goes to bed and he just _can’t sleep_. Even when he’s completely exhausted (which has been the case more often than not), he just can’t get that much needed rest. He’s sure he looks like a zombie and he’s aware that he might have scared some of his clients away because of that. He knows that this hasn’t been doing him any good; much on the contrary, actually. Even when he actually manages to fall asleep, he gets these horrible nightmares that he hasn’t had since he was about sixteen. Nightmares about his parents… nightmares that make him wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for them, tears streaming down his face. He hates them with all his might… especially the new ones. Even though he wasn’t used to those old nightmares anymore, he could handle them better than he could the new ones.  Those actually make him wake up sobbing, an urge to call her coursing through him like fire spreading and devouring a piece of paper. But just like said piece of paper, it eventually becomes ashes, the remnants of a reckless and delusional fantasy. He can’t. And he knows that's what has been bothering him throughout these past days.

 It’s been two weeks. Two weeks since their argument. Two weeks since she walked out of his life without ever turning back. Two weeks of sorrow that have taken their toll on him. Two weeks without Anna. And he’s not sure he can take it anymore. Even Sven has been different, he can tell. From his silent whines to his sad and downcast eyes, he knows he misses her too. And he misses his master, his best friend, as well.

 That’s another thing. He hasn’t been paying much attention to Sven lately. Throughout these two weeks, he only took him out once, and he’s not proud of it. Sven’s lack of exercise shows itself too, as he’s been really hyperactive lately. Kristoff honestly hates himself for his behavior. He should be more attentive, he shouldn’t let something like this get to him the way it has.

 Deep down, he knows why this has been bothering him as much as it was. The thing is, he can’t – or won’t – admit it out loud. It would become a new reality, something he couldn’t escape if he did so. It would be harder to let it go; it would make him suffer more. And he honestly thinks he wouldn’t be ready for that amount of pain.

 A sigh escapes his lips as he sits up abruptly, startling Sven, who was lying at his feet. He rubs his face tiredly, massaging his temples in the process. He gets up from the bed, walking lazily to the kitchen. Making his way to a cabinet, he grabs a glass and fills it with water, before sitting in one of the chairs and taking small sips from it. Sven sits next to him, eyeing his master carefully.

 “What a night, eh Sven?” Kristoff asks the dog, who just tilts his head to the side “But… thinking better of it, maybe I should say ‘nights’… and ‘days’, and everything in between”

 Sven lets out a bark, approaching him and placing his front paws on his knees. Kristoff’s hand flies to the dog’s head involuntarily, scratching him behind the ears and running it down his neck and back. The dog lets out a contented grunt, licking his owner’s face in gratitude. Kristoff gives a small smile as he continues his actions. For a long time, he stays there, petting Sven and staring off into nothing.

 “I need to relax” he mutters to himself, getting up from the chair and running a hand through his disheveled hair. Sven whines a little, complaining of the lack of attention.

 He walks to his room, kneeling down next to his bed. His hands start roaming over the floor under it, until they come up with the familiar feel of the subtle protruding of a wooden board. Kristoff lifts it carefully with one hand, while the other slips through the gap and lands on something soft. He gropes around, feeling his uniform under his fingertips as he tries to find what he was looking for. Once he finally feels it, a slow smile lights up his face. Slowly, carefully, he brings it out of its hiding spot, running his hands over the delicately carved wood of his bow. He gets his quiver out too, counting how many arrows he has left.

 “These will do”

 He gets up and quickly undresses himself, putting on a pair of old jeans, a sweater and a leather jacket and a pair of boots. He flings the quiver on his back and picks up his bow. After making sure he has his house and car keys, he picks up Sven’s leash and whistles for the dog to follow him.

 “Come on, buddy” he says, opening the door to his apartment. Sven barks happily, wagging his tail excitedly as he quickly runs towards his master “We’re going on a walk.”

-xxx-

 He draws the string back, taking in a deep breath to steady his beating heart. As he releases his breath, he also releases the string, the arrow flying and hitting a far away trunk, a few centimeters away from the bull’s-eye of the target there marked.  He lets out a frustrated sigh, stomping his boot against the ground. He _never_ misses his target. Or, at least, he didn’t in the past. Before…

 With a shake of his head, he takes out another arrow and notches it onto the bow’s string. It’s the third time he misses the bull’s-eye since he arrived, and he’s starting to get angry because of it. He can’t afford to miss it. That may be the difference between life and death in any situation where he’s wearing the mask. People trust him with their lives, that’s why he became ‘Arrow’ in the first place! To save lives, to help others and protect them. He can’t let them down.

 Drawing the string once again, he focuses on the bull’s-eye, narrowing his eyes at the target as if it had personally offended him. With a swift movement, he lets go, freeing the arrow that cuts the air with a grace that only it pursues and hitting the trunk with a loud thud, just where Kristoff wanted it to. The corners of his lips turn up with pride as he lowers the bow, marveling his perfect shot. This is how he shoots; this is his work of art.

 In the next twenty shots, he always hits the bull's-eye. He finally feels like he’s achieved the balance he was so used to. He knows that he’s also been neglecting his bow. They’ve always worked so nicely together, filling each other’s needs and wants, never asking for anything in return other than attention. Maybe that’s why their perfect relationship collapsed in the last few weeks. Because Kristoff wasn’t able to fulfill his bow’s one need. He didn’t stop patrolling the city, after all, he was still ‘Arrow’. The thing is, he wasn’t fully concentrated on what he was doing, and that reflected in his shots as well. He was lucky, actually, because these last two weeks were relatively calm. Most of the time, he wouldn’t even need his bow. But now that he finally feels like he can do it again. He doesn’t need to worry anymore because they’re one once again.

 He remembers the first time he saw it…

 His father used to practice archery and he’d take Kristoff with him sometimes. He’d always loved it when he was able to go with him. After all, he would get to spend some time with his dad and would soak up everything the man knew about the sport. When he was little – about 8 years old -his dad got him a small bow as his birthday present.

_“Son,” Mr. Bjorgman said, turning to face Kristoff, a sweet smile on his face. “Are you ready for your gift?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at the young boy. Kristoff starts bouncing on his feet, clapping his hands in pure excitement._

_“Yes! What is it? What is it?” he asks curiously, approaching his dad and looking up at him, amazement evident in his gaze. His dad laughs softly, ruffling his hair affectionately._

_“Close your eyes” he commands and Kristoff does as he’s told, unable to hold his excitement. His dad’s gifts were the best and they were always the ones he was looking forward to. “No peeking!”_

_“Okay” he responds, placing his hands on top of his eyes, trying to reassure his dad that he wasn’t planning on doing so. A few moments pass, before he feels his dad grabbing his hands and placing something on them “Can I open them now?” he asks._

_His dad laughs loudly, his eyes never leaving his son as to not miss his reaction. “Of course”_

_Kristoff opens them with surprising speed, eyeing the carefully wrapped gift resting on his hands. He kneels down on the ground and places it carefully there, starting to tear open the wrapping paper. His eyes widen instantly, his mouth dropping open in awe._

_“I thought I’d give you something a little more your size. Now you can practice with your own bow.” his father explains to him, as Kristoff picks up the bow with gentle hands, taking in every detail of it. It was smaller than his dad’s, but it was perfect for him. He looks up at his dad, smiling widely at him, before hugging him around his waist tightly._

_“Thank you dad!” he rejoices._

_His father’s arms wrap around him, a chuckle following suit “You’re welcome Kris.”_

He had been so happy. He didn’t want to leave home without it, going as far as trying to take it to school with him. That was a funny episode. His mother had been shocked, because “Kris, you can’t take that to school! It’s considered a weapon!”, but his father had been completely amused by it.

 But then it was destroyed. It became ashes, just like all of the things that were on his house in that fateful night. Destroyed by the fire that also killed his parents.

_“My dad saved me” he told Anna once, while they were sitting around in a diner. “He got me out before going back in to save my mother. But…” he swallowed hard, taking in a deep breath. Even though it’s been years, it still hurts him to talk about it. “The house collapsed before they made it. I…”_

_“Oh, Kris” Anna said, placing a hand on top of his, trying to comfort him “I am so sorry you had to go through that… I don’t even know what to say”_

_“It’s okay, Anna” he said, smiling softly at her. They stared at each other with warm gazes, her hand never leaving his as a comfortable silence settled between them. After some time, he felt her thumb brushing his hand softly and his heart fluttered a little._

_“And… thank you. For telling me, I mean.” she finally said, staring at him sweetly, blinking a few times as a soft blush tints her cheeks. He can’t help the pull of his lips upward, as he nods his head and mutters out a “You’re welcome.”_

 After his parents’ death, he didn’t see or touch a bow for eight years. Only when he was eighteen did he actually have close contact with one again. And that contact was with his actual bow, when he found it one night. It was in a garbage can, the quiver next to it with a fair amount of arrows. He honestly has no idea who would’ve thrown away such a good bow or why; after all, it’s still a dangerous weapon. What if another person found it? What if that person did bad things with it? He’s really grateful that he was the one to find it. After sanding and varnishing it, he decided to put it to good use. He was a little apprehensive at first, since it had been a lot of time since he last handled one, but after his first tries, everything just flew naturally. Archery became one of his hobbies again, something he relied on to relax and clear his mind. He even built this small area in the woods to train, drawing targets on trees and going there often to shoot some arrows.

 And it was because of his growing passion for archery that he decided to become Arrow. He knew how messed up this world was, and he couldn’t help but feel the need to do something to make it better. His mom always told him ‘Always remember to help, Kris, even if others are not willing to help you. You have a big heart and no one can ever change that’. He decided to put that advice to use when he became ‘Arrow’. He tried to help others as much as he could; always keeping in mind his mother’s voice and the amazing advice she always gave him. It’s thanks to her that he actually does what he does. He still doesn’t trust people easily, though. Because this is a crazy world and it’s hard to know who’s on your side most of the times, he’s always really cautious around them. Only when he has the mask on, does he actually feel more confident about himself. It offers him a sense of freedom that he didn’t know he could have.

He decides to stop for a while, walking over to his truck. He picks up a bottle of water and drinks almost half of it before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. After he puts said bottle down, he decides to go back to his practice. Sven was running around, barking occasionally at bushes if he detects movement. Kristoff knows his dog’s really happy with this little time out, and that makes him feel a little better. Notching a new arrow and drawing the string back, he feels the wind blowing on his face. It’s cold, as it was supposed to be since it’s winter after all, but strangely enough, he doesn’t feel it. Either that, or his body is choosing to ignore it.

 He wasn’t worried about going home anytime soon; in fact, he would stay in the woods for as long as he could. He likes the feeling of freedom and peace they offer along with his bow.

 The arrow flies through the air, hitting the trunk. Another bull´s-eye. A smile spreads on his lips. This is the happiest he’s been in the last few days.

-xxx-

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

 Kristoff groans from underneath his covers, trying to block out the awful sound. Why must alarm clocks be so damn annoying?

 He slips one hand through a small gap between his covers and mattress and reaches for the nightstand, fumbling for the object. Once he feels it, he’s quick to slap it shut, releasing a relieved sigh in the process. He lets his arm fall to the side of the bed, closing his eyes, hoping to go back to his peaceful sleep – one of the few times he actually managed to get that during the last weeks- when his cell phone starts ringing.

 “Really?” he asks unhappily, before grabbing it and punching the ‘answer’ button, bringing it to his ear. “What?” he asks sharply , pushing the covers further up his head.

 “Wow, it’s a pleasure to hear you too!” Olaf replies from the other line, and Kristoff swears he can hear his eyes rolling. With much reluctance and a deep sigh, he sits up, rubbing his eyes groggily.

 “Sorry,” he mumbles.

 “Were you sleeping?”

 “Yeah.”

 “Do you know what time is it?”

  Kristoff risks a glance at the clock: 11:56AM.

 “Shit” he curses under his breath, throwing the blankets off his lap and scrambling to his feet “I’m sorry… I’ll be there in five minutes”

 “Kay!” Olaf says before hanging up. Kristoff runs to his closet and takes out a pair of jeans. With his rush to put them on, he ends up falling to the ground, Sven happily licking his face in a morning greeting.

 This is going to be a _long_ day.

-xxx-

 “Hey! Good morning, sorry I’m late!” Kristoff exclaims, quickly taking a seat in front of Olaf, who’s taking careful sips from his latte.

 “It’s fine,” he answers, placing the mug down. A waitress stops by the table, asking Kristoff what he wants.

 “I’ll have a coffee, please. Black”

 “Okay. Someone will bring you your order in a few minutes, sir”. He gives her a little nod and she turns on her heel, walking away.

 “Sleep well?” Olaf asks him after a while.

 “Actually, yes. I haven’t slept this good in a while”

 They stay in silence for a while, waiting for the waitress to bring Kristoff’s order. They don’t have to wait for long, though, as within five minutes, a fuming mug of black coffee is placed in front of him. He thanks her and takes a careful sip, enjoying the bitter taste it brings. He lets out a low hum, closing his eyes in the process.

 “Yesterday I went to the woods,” Kristoff starts, his eyes roaming the mug grasped firmly on his hands.

 “Oh?” Olaf doesn’t say anything else after that, so Kristoff takes it as a sign to continue.

 “It made me feel so much better. The feeling of freedom archery gives me always manages to lift my spirits up. I…you…” he sighs deeply, thinking over the words he wanted to say in his head. He stops for a while, scratching his head, “How… How is she?”

 Olaf smiles sadly, looking at his friend. He knew he wanted to ask that, it was evident on his face.

 “She’s… really sad. For her, it’s just another person who decided to shut her out”. That sends a wave of guilt crashing against Kristoff, his mouth going dry all of a sudden. His heart drops and he can’t help the way his eyes cast down. He should’ve known. No, he _knew_. But this was for the best, he can’t go back on his word. Of course she’d think he had abandoned her.

 If only she knew how much he’s hurting, how much he misses her, how much he needs her. How much he… loves her. There. He finally admitted it to himself. He’s pretty sure he’ll regret it later, but for now, he couldn’t care less. He loved her and that’s the truth. And he just hurt the woman he so desperately tried – and tries – to protect.

 “Are you sure this is the best thing for her?” Olaf asks. “For you?”

 Kristoff gazes at the street, cars passing by, such as couples walking hand in hand, some with children. But then, there are also people who are alone, eyes never leaving the ground. And sadly enough, he feels like he’s among those people.

 “Yes,” he answers shortly.

 “I think she suspects I know your secret. Maybe… maybe it would be better for you to tell her.”

 Kristoff’s head snaps to meet Olaf’s gaze so fast that he’s surprised it didn’t fly off his neck.

 “No!” he replies, shaking his head vigorously “That’ll just put her in unnecessary danger-”

 “I can’t hold your secret for much longer, Kristoff! She’ll find out sooner or later. She’s not stupid, she knows you’re hiding something. She’s been trying to find out what it is-”

 “Then tell her to stop!” Kristoff says harshly, slamming a fist on the table. People start looking over at them, questioning faces and whispers running through the café. He ignores them as he looks at Olaf once again. “You need to tell her to stop, Olaf. _Please_. This is… she can’t do that. If she keeps trying to find out what I’m hiding, even I can’t protect her.”

 Olaf chuckles softly “Kristoff,” he starts saying; “You know Anna. When she gets something in her head no one, and I mean no one, can stop her. No matter what I say, she’ll do it nonetheless. She cares about you so much, Kristoff. She just wants to understand what happened.”

 He rubs his face tiredly. Why does she have to be so stubborn?

 He finally sighs and picks up his mug once again “I know,” he says, bringing it to his lips and taking a long gulp.

 “I’m sorry, buddy, but I can’t help you anymore on this one. As much as I’d like to, I can’t. She won’t listen to me, especially if she suspects I’m helping you hide your secret. I swear I tried to talk her out of it, but she won’t give up. As I said, she’s really stubborn when she’s determined.”

 “It’s okay, Olaf. Really,” Kristoff says, smiling sadly at his longtime friend. “…I know”

-xxx-

 How he had his garage full of cars (actually, there was only three, but that was a lot already) was beyond his understanding. Not that he was complaining! This was amazing for his business and helped him get distracted for a while. As he worked and concentrated himself on the cars, he didn’t have time to overthink things too much.

 It’s been two days since his talk with Olaf and he’s been struggling with himself over if he should or should not call Anna. He really wants to, but at the same time, another part of him keeps repeating itself over and over again on his head, like a broken recorder, saying that this is the best thing for the both of them and that if he called her, he’d be putting her in danger all over again.

_You’re protecting her._

 Kristoff’s hunched under the hood of a car, checking its engine, when Sven barks suddenly. He jumps in shock, hitting his head on the hood.

 “ _Fuck,_ ” he curses, rubbing his sore head “What the hell Sven? What made you-”

 And then he turns around and his mouth drops open. Because there, right in front of him, was the one person he couldn’t stop thinking about.

 “Anna” he whispers, eyes softening considerably.


End file.
